WEnyan: A research scholarship program driven by Women for Women

      Facilitated by                  Implemented by                       Sponsored by

BASF collaborates with the Pune Knowledge Cluster to launch WEnyan:  A research scholarship program driven by Women for Women

Highlights

1. Partnership Facilitated by Strategic Alliances Division under Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India

2. Pune Knowledge Cluster (PKC), the implementing partner, is one of the six S&T clusters under the aegis of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India

3. PKC will monitor progress of the scholarship program while BASF will fund scientific research for women from marginalized backgrounds in Maharashtra.

BASF collaborates with Pune Knowledge Cluster (facilitated by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India) for WEnyan: a Research Scholarship Program, driven by women, for women.

BASF Chemicals India Private Limited (BCIPL) has signed an agreement with the Pune Knowledge Cluster (PKC), an initiative facilitated by the Office of the PSA, to launch WEnyan, a research scholarship program for women in Maharashtra. WEnyan (विज्ञान) represents Science; ‘WE’ stands for Women in Education while ‘nyan’ (ज्ञान) is knowledge.

WEnyan is a scholarship program where women in leadership positions from scientific fields will play an active and important role in selecting, mentoring, and monitoring other women candidates in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility commitments, BCIPL will provide financial support for research projects, to women candidates from marginalized backgrounds in the state of Maharashtra. These women will be selected by PKC. The areas of research will include Applied Natural Sciences, Specialty Chemicals, Agri-Chemicals, New Materials, and Sustainability. 

Through this initiative, PKC aims to increase enrollment and retention of women in scientific streams creating a more gender-equal workforce. Key beneficiaries of the programme would be women from marginalized communities and low-income groups in Maharashtra, who are either pursuing or have completed undergraduate degree (BSc / BTech / BE) or Master’s degree (MSc / MTech / ME) and want to explore entrepreneurship.

Dr. K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India discussed the MoU with Narayan Krishnamohan – Managing Director, BASF India Limited and Head for BASF Group Companies in India.

Research indicates that STEM-related jobs as well as science-based entrepreneurship have grown in the past few years in India. An increase in enrolment of women in higher education coupled with lower dropout rates at the undergraduate and graduate levels is a crucial step towards reducing gender gap in the organized workforce.

About Pune Knowledge Cluster

The Pune Knowledge Cluster (PKC) was established by the Office of The Principal Scientific Adviser, GoI under the City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster Initiative (CKIC). PKC aims to bring together academic institutions, R&D organizations, industries, industry associations, NGOs, civic bodies, local and state governments to collectively work for the betterment of Pune City by leveraging science and technology capabilities of its partner organizations. PKC is hosted by the Inter-University Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA) which is a UGC-supported government institution in Pune. For more details, Click here

About BASF

BASF creates chemistry for a sustainable future. They combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 111.000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of customers across different sectors and countries in the world. The portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. For further information , Click here

About BASF in India

BASF has been present in India for more than 130 years. At the end of 2021, BASF had 2,311 employees in India with eight production sites and 39 offices throughout the country. The Innovation Campus, Mumbai and the Coatings Technical Center, Mangalore are both part of BASF’s global technology platform. For more information, Click here